John Madden Title for Author Page

Creating a Winning Environment for Youth Baseball Parents

Posted by John Madden | Dec 24, 2017

Take a look around. It’s not hard to find examples of parents gone wild at youth sporting events. Arguing with officials, arguing with coaches and berating young kids has become so commonplace we hardly bat an eye. But as coaches, reining in the parents is crucial to a successful season. Establishing a winning environment for team parents is a mix of education, getting everyone on the same page, having open communication and holding parents accountable—even if that last part is sometimes uncomfortable. Education My town rec league has coaching clinics galore, but we do nothing at all for the...

4 Tips To Increase Throwing Velocity

Posted by John Madden | Dec 11, 2017

^^^ SUBSCRIBE TO CHRIS’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A BETTER ATHLETE! If you’re an outfielder, infielder, catcher, pitcher, quarterback, or really any throwing athlete, then this video will be beneficial to you! I had the opportunity to do a “collab” with Chris Barnard of OverTimeAthletes, trainer to many professional baseball players. In this video we talk about… 4 Tips To Increase Throwing Velocity Throwing velocity is important because that is the measurement that scouts use to measure our throwing ability. Although it is not conclusive in evaluating a thrower, it is currently the number 1...

The Top 6 Biggest Mistakes Youth Baseball Coaches Make

Posted by John Madden | Dec 11, 2017

After 29 years of being a coach’s wife and 22 years of being a sports mom, I’ve encountered hundreds of coaching styles. None of those styles comes anywhere close to being perfect. Every coach makes mistakes. Mistakes are not desirable of course, but they will happen. As a coach, your job is not to beat yourself up over it, but to learn from it. Here are the top six mistakes I’ve seen youth sports coaches make: Mistake 1: You Refuse to be a Student of the Game Coaches, you might talk about the values of being coachable with your...

Best Hand-Eye Coordination Drills for Baseball Players (to do ANYWHERE!)

Posted by John Madden | Dec 6, 2017

^^^ SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A BETTER BASEBALL PLAYER! If you’re struggling to catch, field, or hit in baseball, then you may be lacking some hand-eye coordination. With these super easy to do hand-eye coordination drills, your fielding, catching, and hitting will get right back on track and you’ll start playing the way you know you should have. The best part about these hand-eye coordination drills is that you can do them pretty much anywhere and by yourself! Hand-Eye Coordination Drill #1 – Training With Mini Wiffle Balls You can use mini...

Best Backhand Fielding Drill for Baseball Infielders

Posted by John Madden | Dec 2, 2017

^^^ SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A BETTER INFIELDER! If you’re struggling to scoop up those backhand ground balls without missing the baseball or causing an error, then this backhand drill is for you! Do This Infield Drill By Yourself The best part about this backhand drill is that you can do it by yourself. You don’t need a glove. You don’t need a partner. You don’t need a coach. All you need is a baseball and some good ole fashioned work ethic. Work On Soft Hands With This Fielding Drill When you’re...